On December 16, Bi Shiduo ordered the arrest of Gao Pian and took him to the downtown area. Along the way, he made a big fuss and called on countless people to join in denouncing the former governor of Yangzhou.
He brought Zhang Shenjian, Zheng Hanzhang and others with him to the downtown area of Jiangdu, and read out loudly to countless Jiangdu people and local elders hundreds of charges against Gao Pian, both big and small. He listed the various harms that Gao Pian had brought to Yangzhou due to his favoritism towards evil people, and denounced Gao Pian, pointing out that he was the source of the chaos in Yangzhou.
The indignant people contributed countless stones, rubble, etc. Gao Pian was nearly crushed to death. Some friends said, shouldn't rotten eggs and sweet potatoes be used? If these were available, why would Zhu Li go to such great pains to help them? At that time, the people didn't even have these.
After waiting for the people to vent their anger, Bi Shiduo immediately ordered his guards to gather firewood, tie Gao Pian in the middle, and burn it. Gao Pian, who had been a powerful figure throughout his life, was sacrificed alive in front of countless people and guards at the downtown entrance of Jiangdu.
When the news of Gao Pian being sacrificed alive spread, Yang Xingmi, the governor of Luzhou, was the first to stand up and declared that he would definitely avenge Gao Pian and punish Bi Shiduo and others.
On the same day, Zhu Li resigned from Zhang Shenjian and returned to Gaoyou with Shen Ji, Xu Kan, their families, Yang Zaixing and Chen Gong.
Gaoyou, the former gate of Lu Yongzhi’s residence.
A pair of phoenix eyes stared at Zhu Li who had just returned. Zhu Li suddenly saw Yiren and looked a little dazed. Then he suddenly said, "You, why are you here? It's too dangerous here. What are you doing here?"
"Hmph." Yuchi Jin looked at Zhu Li and became rude to her as soon as they met. Her crystal eyes turned slightly red. She turned around and entered the yard and went straight to the back garden.
Looking at her aggrieved figure, Zhu Li hurriedly instructed Yang Zaixing to take good care of Shen Ji, Xu Kan, and their families.
He hurriedly chased after Yuchi Jin, secretly sighing in his heart that he really owed Yuchi Jin too much. As the saying goes, "care too much and you will be confused", it is absolutely true.
In the small pavilion in the garden, Yuchi Jinyu's face was as calm as water and she remained silent.
Seeing this scene, how could Zhu Li not know what to do
This is the time when men should use all their tricks to deceive people, such as cheating, deceiving, and misleading others.
After all, Zhu Li had been in love before, so she knew what to do. She immediately put aside everything so-called dignity and began to coax the boy like a grandson, with that mouth that could bring the dead back to life, talking incessantly.
This trick was indeed effective. In less than a minute, laughter as sweet as silver bells could be heard in the garden. It was the sound of Yuchi Jin who couldn't help laughing and burst into tears.
"I never thought you could be such a rogue sometimes." Yuchi Jin stood beside Zhu Li, trying hard to suppress her inner joy and pretended to be slightly angry.
Zhu Li's face was drooling, and he immediately said righteously: "You are wronging me. What I said to you is from the bottom of my heart. Jin'er is the only one in the world, and Jin'er is the most beautiful woman in the world."
At such a young age and with such sweet words, the young lady Yuchi Jin was filled with joy and happiness. She rolled her eyes at Zhu Li and said angrily, "When are you going to ask my mother to marry you? She was already a 15-year-old last year. If you stay at home, you will become an old maid."
In ancient times, girls were 15 years old. Yuchi Jin and Zhu Li were the same age, and they were already 16 this year. The second year of Zhonghe was about to pass, and after the new year, they would be 17. The girls were indeed a little anxious. In those days, it was not like today. 17-year-old girls
Most of them are surrounded by their children and spend years as mothers.
Zhu Li heard this and paused for a moment before resolutely saying, "I want to go back to my hometown first. When we return to Shuozhou, I will propose to Madam Yuchi."
His soul has had an obscure and embarrassing past. It is certainly impossible to forget it, but no matter what, he does not want to let down the girl in front of him. This is a girl who has put all her thoughts on him. Since the beauty is interested in him, I have no regrets.
As soon as the words fell, the originally pretty and calm Yuchi Jin's snow-white face instantly turned red, and her two curved eyebrows quietly stretched, full of happiness and joy. However, she still pretended to be reserved and said shyly: "Humph, you only think of proposing marriage now, I don't want it."
After she finished speaking, the young lady instantly turned into a joyful little deer and ran away skippingly.
In the living room, Zhu Li met Liang Zun and Han Zhong.
He had not expected that this brave general would secretly find out about his little moves and come to him eagerly for surrender. What else could he say? He happily accepted the other party's surrender.
Liang Zhan immediately decided to split up those generals and guards of the Zhaoyi Army who were willing to follow him and head north to Shuozhou; he himself set off with Han Zhong, his family, and Zhu Li.
After everything was arranged, Zhu Li looked at Yan Keqiu with a little concern and said, "Has it really been done now? What if Yang Xingmi is no match for Bi Shiduo?"
Hearing this, Yan Keqiu smiled and said, "General, I have filtered it. A general should be 'wise', 'faithful', 'benevolent', 'brave', and 'strict'. Bi Shiduo first surrendered to Huang Chao, and after the defeat in Tanzhou, he surrendered to Gao Pian. This shows that he is not a brave man."
"When a person is indecisive about important matters and believes in witchcraft and divination, he is unwise; when he wreaks havoc on the local area and kidnaps the people, he is unkind; if he loses three of the five qualities, he is not a true general."
Zhu Li nodded when he heard this. When the rebels revolted and encountered Dong Jin in Shaobo, if he had not made a decisive move on the battlefield and let Yang Zaixing come out to challenge and boost morale, Bi Shiduo would probably still be indecisive and unable to make a decision, missing the opportunity to fight. It can be seen that he is a man of little courage and wisdom.
In addition, Bi Shiduo used to be a general of the Cao army. He often kidnapped civilians and ravaged the local area. It is definitely correct to say that he is unkind.
As soon as Yan Keqiu saw Zhu Li's expression, he knew that the other party agreed with his point of view, and continued: "On the other hand, Yang Xingmi killed officials and started an uprising, which is not something that ordinary people dare to do, which shows that he is a brave man; he seized Luzhou and ruled it, governed the local area and accumulated strength, which shows that he is not a reckless man, but has foresight. This alone shows his benevolence and wisdom; although this benevolence has a certain purpose, compared with Bi Shiduo and others, Yang Xingmi is obviously much stronger."
Zhu Li nodded. He knew a little about Yang Xingmi. This man once had a boss who didn't like him and always ordered him to run around, either guarding remote places or going to war, for fear that he would die soon.
So Yang Xingmi decided to go all out and killed the man, then rose up in rebellion and forced Gao Pian to appoint him as the governor of Luzhou.
"Under Yang Xingmi's command, there are Yuan Xi, Zhang Jingsi and others in the civil field, and Tian, An Renyi, Li Shenfu, Zhu Yanshou, Mi Zhicheng and other brave generals. They are all rare talents. If we can't get rid of Bi Shiduo and others, then even if we give him the position of Yangzhou Jiedu, how long can he defend Yangzhou?" Yan Keqiu continued to explain.
Zhu Li nodded again after hearing this. What Yan Keqiu said made sense.
Like when parents raise their children and do everything for them, the children they raise will most likely be useless. However, if they lay a good foundation and let the children pursue and obtain things on their own, it will be more likely for them to become useful. It's the same principle.
What's more, all the civil and military officials under Yang Xingmi's command were extraordinary. Let's talk about his strategist Yuan Xi first. Yuan Xi should be credited with the main credit for Yang Xingmi's success in establishing his own regime.
This is a strategist comparable to Chen Ping, who has almost no omissions in his plans. His talent is comparable to that of Li Ru, Xi Zhicai and others in the Three Kingdoms period, and he is definitely not inferior to them.
To sum it up in one sentence, it was because of Yang Xingmi's Yuan Xi that the Five Dynasties of Wu came into being; and it was because of Xu Wen's Yan Keqiu that the later Southern Tang came into being. Yuan Xi and Yan Keqiu were both wise men like Rival in Palace.
As for the generals under Yang Xingmi, there were even more of them.
This heroic figure, at the beginning of his rise to power, gathered countless heroes, known as the "Thirty-Six Heroes". Each of these thirty-six heroes was extraordinary. In the early stages of the uprising, Xu Wen performed the worst when facing suppression from local authorities.
Xu Wen was the Zhongwu Emperor of Later Tang, which shows that the thirty-six heroes were not ordinary people.
Yang Xingmi has more than thirty-six heroes under his command, and the others should not be underestimated either.
The most famous among them are Tian and An Renyi, who were praised by later generations as the "Twin Pillars of Jianghuai". Whether in terms of military strength or strategy, they are comparable to Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren in the Three Kingdoms period, without any exaggeration.
There are also Li Shenfu, Zhu Yanshou, Mi Zhicheng and others, who were also powerful generals at the time. Their martial arts skills in their heyday were probably not inferior to Ling Tong, Huang Gai and others in the Three Kingdoms period, and that was proven by their actual combat achievements.
That's not all. Yang Xingmi also had Zhu Jin, Wang Maozhang, Liu Wei, Zhou Ben and others under his command, who were all brave generals of their generation. There were also new generals such as Dong Jin and Qin Chou, who were formerly under Lu Yongzhi. It would not be an exaggeration to describe his subordinates as "good plans like clouds and brave generals like rain."
On the other hand, what do Bi Shiduo and others have? Zhang Shenjian, Zheng Hanzhang, Yu Gongchu, Yao Guili and others, although not weak, are at most equivalent to Guan Ping and Ma Dai in the Three Kingdoms period; the only strategist is Wang Fengxian, who is a fraudulent witch and not even a third-rate strategist.
If Yang Xingmi still cannot defeat Bi Shiduo with such a lineup, then he might as well find a rope and hang himself.
Thinking of this, Zhu Li finally calmed down. They packed their luggage and did not stay in Gaoyou for too long. They headed north to Xuzhou, which was Zhu Li's hometown. He still wanted to go back and take a look, and then go directly north to Shuozhou.
However, on the way, Zhu Li discovered a strange phenomenon. Yan Keshu, who had always been timid and cowardly, now stuck to Yuchi Jin every day like maltose stuck to teeth, acting cute and naughty in endless ways, and her intentions were very obvious.
Yan Keqiu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he saw all this, but he couldn't tell her directly that Yuchi Jin was a girl. After all, that would not be good for the reputation of his future mistress, so he could only swallow his anger.
But when Zhu Li saw all this, he found it somewhat amusing. Since ancient times, heroes have loved beauties, and in fact, beauties naturally like handsome men. You see, Zhu Li, Yang Zaixing, Chen Gong, Jing Ming and others have been with Miss Yan Keshu for such a long time, but they have never seen Miss Yan Keshu be so unrestrained.
As soon as Yuchi Jin appeared, the shy young lady immediately turned into an diligent and cheerful little bee, and spring seemed not far away.